She picked up her coat, which was lying in a crumpled heap at the foot of the hall-stand, and flouncing past her stricken sweetheart, marched down the four steps of Town House, and up the four steps of Arcadia, next door.
—Luke made a sudden forward dive over the stone parapet that divided them, and caught Jinny awkwardly by her skirt:
“Let me go!” she twisted round, that he might not see the tears which scalded her eyes.
“Jinny,” his voice was low; “it’s—I was only joking, y’know. It’s all right about the panto to-morrow, isn’t it?”
“Not so sure.”
“Jinny!”
“Oh,—I suppose so!” she detached herself from his grasp, and vanished indoors.
Luke had not been able to pull it off, after all. Not quite.